Algeria's Islamists using street protests to serve their own interests

Marc Lynch, a specialist in Arab world policies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has advised researchers to view Islamist parties as more than just ideological entities.

The Islamist parties, he said, need to be viewed as rational political movements that interact with political opportunities and challenges in their countries.

In his book, "The Failure of Political Islam", French political scientist Olivier Roy says Islamists had to adapt to modern political concepts with the aim of reaching power in their countries.

These Islamists, he says, sometimes adopt Marxist concepts, and capitalist ideals at other times.

In doing this, Roy adds in the book, the Islamists tried to fit these concepts and ideals into an Islamist mould.

The same thing is done by other ideological forces in other countries, even as they have nothing to do with Islam, Roy says.

Roy categorizes Islamist parties into three groups. He says the first group is this of the parties that deny the legitimacy of all other parties. He says the Islamist Party in Afghanistan is a glaring example in this regard.

He adds that the second group is of the Western-style parties that function without democratic systems and try to make as much gains as possible.

Roy notes that the third group is of active religious societies that promote the Islamist ideals and work to effect cultural change in the societies where they operate.

Islamist ordeal

Algeria witnessed one of the worst waves of violence in the Arab and Islamic worlds between 1992 and 2002. This period is known as the 'Black Ten Years'.

Islamists were a main party to this violence against the Algerian army. The violence broke up after the cancelation of the results of the parliamentary elections which the Islamists, namely the Islamist Salvation Front, won.

Ten years into the violence, however, Algeria's Islamists realized the catastrophic consequences of carrying arms against their state. This was exactly when then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika launched a national reconciliation initiative.

The surprising thing still is that Algeria's Islamists worked tooth and nail to adapt themselves to the latest protests in their country, even as the protests erupted against Bouteflika's regime and the opposition at the same time.

In a statement, the Islamist Salvation Front praised the protests and commended them for uniting all Algerians.

Presidency 2019

When Algeria started making preparations for its first post-Bouteflika presidential election, the Islamist Movement of Society for Peace said it would boycott the vote.

Nonetheless, when incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune won the election, the movement hurried to declare support.

However, this was considered as a betrayal of the protests on the streets where the protesters viewed the vote would open the door for the reproduction of the Bouteflika regime.

The movement head Abdel Maguid Manasra said his movement is ready start dialogue with the government.

"We want concord," he said.

He said his movement would back Tebboune if he acts well.